A Team Galactic Halloween
by Lord Agravane the Undead
Summary: It's Halloween and a couple of grunts are trying to scare Cyrus, to see if he has emotions. How well will that go? With thanks to Moaking and SpecialCryogonal for help.
1. Chapter 1

**A Team Galactic Halloween Story**

 _By Cosmic Gerbil_

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or the characters within.

* * *

 **Part 1**

It was Halloween in Sinnoh and everybody at Team Galactic's HQ were eagerly preparing for their splendid Halloween party that they were having that evening. Actually, no…no they weren't. Cyrus didn't want to do anything for Halloween, as it involved emotions.

To be fair, he had told any of his staff that if they wanted to celebrate, they could have the evening off to do so. No, wait, he didn't do that either. Cyrus had organised an important lecture for the evening and he was insisting that everybody attend. Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, being nice commanders had told him that they would be delighted to. Hey, maybe not completely true but very loyal of them.

Sadly, not all of Team Galactic were this loyal. There were some grunts who had simply joined because they were lazy bums who thought that being in Team Galactic would be easy money and that they wouldn't have to do a scrap of work.

Two of these particular grunts were G45 and G46. They were brothers who had joined up just a few weeks previously and were disappointed to find that being in Team Galactic seemed to be 80% listening to Cyruses' lectures, 19.9% doing things to make the world a better (and emotionless) place and 0.01% larking around. Not what they had expected or wanted at all.

During the 0.01% of time they had to bum off, they had concocted up a rather ingenious plan. (Well, G45 and G46 thought it was ingenious). As it was Halloween that evening, they had decided that it would be hilarious to jump scare Cyrus. Or at least attempt to.

So, G45 was dressed in a totally unrealistic Spiritomb costume and he and his brother were hiding in a supply cupboard, along on of the main corridors.

"This is a dumb idea," G46 complained. "The Boss might not even walk along here. And if he does who knows how long we gotta wait? And even if it's not long, he still won't be scared".

"Why not?" G45 asked. "I think it's a pretty scary costume".

"Cos he doesn't have emotions, duh!"

G45 snorted. "That's garbage, bro. Everybody has emotions".

"Well, I've never seen him show any".

"That's just cos he's good at hiding them. Now shut up, in case somebody hears us".

Presently, Cyrus and Mars came walking down the corridor. Cyrus was talking about the correlation between oatmeal, Pachirisu and the creation of silicon chips. Mars was listening avidly and even managing to convey a fascinated expression.

"Ugh, I hope that's not gonna be what tonight's lecture is about," said G46.

"Shush, you'll give us away," growled G45. He peeped round the cupboard door and smirked as he saw Cyrus and Mars approaching.

"Now to find out if he's got emotions or not," he muttered in a low voice.

"Yes Commander Mars, I am glad you understand my fascinating subject," Cyrus was saying. "Of course, milled oats and silicon are very similar, which is why in theory it should be possible to manufacture silicon chips out of oatmeal".

"Of course, Boss," Mars said, wondering why anybody would want to make oatmeal chips. While she was wondering whether of not Windows would run on them, G45 leapt out of the cupboard right in front of her and Cyrus, screaming at the top of his lungs. Mars squealed and Cyrus flinched, jumping back a little.

Both grunts yelled with laughter. "Haha, told you so," G45 said gleefully to his brother., "The Boss does have emotions after all. He was scared!"

Cyrus stared at G45 with a deadpan expression. "Incorrect," he stated. It was simply a reflex action and not indicative of emotions at all".

Mars was furious. How dare those stupid grunts make her jump and attempt to scare Cyrus. "Boss, can I have permission to do horribly painful things to them?" she asked.

"Very well," Cyrus said. "Permission granted".

"Thank you!" Mars advanced towards the grunts, who having just a small amount of good sense, turned tail and fled as fast as they could.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

After narrowly escaping from Mars, G45 and G46 retired to their dormitory to plan their next move. They hid underneath G45's bed (just in case Mars was still on the warpath) and whispered to each other.

"Ok, so was the Boss scared or not?" G46 asked.

"I don't think so," G45 admitted. "It did seem more like a startle response rather than actual fear".

"Yeah, I thought the same," G46 agreed. "So…should we try again?"

"I think so, yeah. Maybe the costume wasn't scary enough?"

"Or maybe it was cos it was broad daylight. Scaring him in the middle of the night would be much more effective".

So the grunts decided on their next plan. They would dress up as Drifloon, sneak into Cyrus's room at midnight, scream into his ear and then flee. They were both convinced that it would work. Sort of.

* * *

It was 23:50 at night and the grunts were walking along the corridor that led to Cyrus's room. At it was so late, the main lights were turned off and the only source of illumination came from a small torch that G45 was carrying.

"Are you sure this is frightening enough?" G46 whispered to his brother. "Drifloon do seem kind of…cute".

"Come on, dummy! They're ghost balloons! What the heck is cute about that?"

G46 shrugged. "Well, if you're sure".

Presently, the grunts arrived outside Cyrus's door. G45 switched off his torch and winced when it made an audible click.

"Shhhh," hissed G46.

"You shhhh yourself," G45 muttered back. He took a deep breath and approached the door. With the torch now off, he could clearly see a thin beam of yellow emanating from the gap at the bottom of the door.

"Rats!" G45 whispered. "He's still up".

"Maybe he sleeps with the light on?" suggested G46.

"Maybe? Let's find out". G45 got down on the floor (which was incredibly difficult, as he was wearing a Drifloon costume). Pressing his face against the gap, he peeped under the door, squinting to see better.

Cyrus was wide awake and typing up something on his computer. His Weavile was curled up asleep on the bed and his Murkrow was sitting on the headboard, cleaning its feathers.

"Yeah, he's awake," grumbled G45. "We better come back later".

G46 nodded. "Yeah. Best leave it about…say, an hour? To be safe?"

"Sounds Ok to me. Uhhh, bro?"

"Yeah?"

"Help me up of the flipping floor, will you!"

* * *

So, 1:00 am arrived and the two grunts returned to Cyrus's room. They were pretty sleepy now and both certain that this time, they would find the light out and Cyrus sleeping soundly.

Alas, when G45 switched off the torch, the same yellow light could be seen in a thin beam beneath the door. He wanted to swear loudly but was afraid Cyrus would hear, so he scowled instead.

"Maybe this time he's sleeping with the light on?" G46 asked.

"What's with you and thinking the Boss sleeps with his light on? OK, it's your turn to get down and look this time".

G46 nodded and lay down, as required. Peering under the door, he saw Cyrus, still sitting at the computer. Weavile was still asleep and now Murkrow was too.

"Nope, he's awake and working," G46 said.

"Ugh, doesn't he ever sleep!" G45 helped his brother up. "OK, we come back at 2:00 then. Agreed?"

"Agreed!"

An hour later and the two (now very tired grunts) turned up once more outside Cyrus's room. G46 could hardly stop yawning and G45 nearly dropped the torch as he fumbled to press the off switch.

Out went the beam of light, only to reveal the now familiar sliver across the floor. G45 didn't speak, he simply sighed and got down to check once more.

"He's still up," he mumbled, gazing blearily at Cyrus, still tapping away on his computer.

"Urgh, is he gonna be up all night?" groaned G46. "Here, let me see. Maybe you're hallucinating cos you're so tired".

Before G45 could protest, his brother also got down and looked under the door. Nope, Cyrus was awake for him too. Though G46 was rewarded by seeing Cyrus take a sip of water.

"Ok, so we come back at 3:00?" he asked.

"I…guess so, yeah," yawned G45.

"Alright. So, shall we get going?"

"Yeah, just gimme a minute. Here, how are we both gonna get back up now?"

There was no answer. G45 nudged his brother but the only reply he got was a small snore.

"I…don' blame him," G45 mumbled, before his eyelids drooped closed too and he drifted off.

* * *

G45 was woken from his slumber by a terrifying apparition looming over him! A huge, shadowy figure with fearsome horns and a cup instead of a hand. Too frightened to scream, he could only stare, wide eyed with horror.

G46 stirred, rubbing his eyes. "What time is it?" he muttered. In response, G45 made a choking sound and pointed at the creature.

"Here! What are you two doing, loafing around outside the Bosses' door?" it spoke. Then, said door opened, light flooded out and there was Cyrus, wearing red boxers with yellow polka dots and Buneary slippers.

This new horror was too much for the frightened grunts, who, through sheer terror, leapt to their feet and raced off down the corridor as if Giratina himself was in pursuit. Cyrus stared after them, his face emotionless as usual. Then he turned to the eldritch horror who had originally caused the commotion.

"Saturn, you have brought me my bedtime cocoa," he said, "Thank you".

"Not a problem Boss," Saturn beamed and handed over the cup of hot cocoa.

Cyrus accepted the cup and took a sip from it. "Who were those Drifloons?" he asked.

"I dunno," Saturn replied. "I guess two of the grunts?"

"Yes. They had probably been attending a late night party, returned to the HQ and became lost, possibly due to intoxication".

"I hope so," Saturn said. "It would have been a proper cheek, had they been trying to bring you cocoa. That's my job".


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3**

The following day (well, technically the same day but you know what I mean), G45 and G46 were plotting nefarious deeds while they sorted through an old file cupboard.

"We really have to scare the Boss," G45 was saying. "We just need to figure out how".

"Are you sure we shouldn't just forget about it?" G46 asked. "I mean, Halloween's over now".

G45 shook his head. "No, not when we've come this far".

"But we haven't come anywhere at all. Both our attempts failed".

"Ah, you know what I mean". G45 opened another box, ready to sort through it. This box was full of empty inkjet printer cartridges and sharpies.

"Ugh, what's the point of keeping all this old junk?" he groaned. G46 stared at the boxes' contents thoughtfully.

"I've just had an idea".

"Yeah?"

G46 picked up a sharpie and waved it under his brother's nose. "Why don't we draw on the Bosses' face while he's asleep?"

G45 snorted. "Because he never sleeps, you wally!"

"He must sleep sometimes! Maybe really early in the morning, like about 4 or 5?"

G45 shook his head. "I'm not going through what we did last night. No way!"

"No wait, listen," G46 said. "What if we go to bed as normal and then get up super early? Maybe he'd be sleeping then?"

G45 thought about this. "I guess it's worth a try," he finally said. "But, hang on a minute…how would that scare the Boss?"

G46 shrugged. "Maybe he'd think a ghost had done it?"

"Oh yeah, right," scoffed G45.

"Well, I think we should do it. And here, listen. Even if it doesn't scare the Boss, it may make him mad. Getting mad is an emotion, isn't it?"

G45 nodded slowly. "Actually, yeah, that's a good point".

G46 smirked. "So, we doing it then?"

"Sure, we can give it a try!"

* * *

The following morning, both grunts were up bright and early, thanks to an alarm clock under G46's pillow. Actually, they weren't very bright at all. As they shuffled along the corridor towards Cyrus's room, they were dull, slow and grumpy.

"He had better be asleep," G45 said. "If he's awake and on that computer again, I'm going right back to bed and staying there".

The grunts reaches Cyrus's door and peeped underneath. Amazingly, Cyrus was indeed asleep, curled up in bed and with his Buneary slippers on the floor next to the bed. The grunts stared at each other, suddenly nervous.

"What if he wakes up?" G45 whispered.

"We run like Ninjask outta here," replied G46.

G45 nodded and carefully tried the door handle. It wasn't locked. Slowly, cautiously, he pushed the door open, just enough to squeeze in. G46 tiptoed in after him, clutching a blue sharpie in his sweaty hand.

"I don't like this," G45 muttered. "He's gonna wake up, I just know it".

"He will if you keep jabbering away. Now shut it and let's do what we came here to do," growled G46.

G45 stood close to the door, ready to flee if Cyrus so much as stirred. G46 leaned over Cyrus, trying hard to breathe quietly. He glanced over his shoulder a couple of times.

"Go on!" G45 mouthed.

G46 definitely looked as if he was having second thoughts about his plan now. He very quickly scrawled on the sleeping Cyrus, holding his breath the whole time and hoping that his wet hand didn't betray him and cause him to drop the sharpie on Cyrus's head.

Seconds later, he backed away from Cyrus, breathing heavily. G45 grabbed him and ushered him out of the room. They closed the door and fled up the corridor at top speed.

It was only when they had retired to the safety of an empty office and were about to high five each other on the success of their plan, when G45 suddenly realised that there was something wrong.

"Uh, how are we supposed to see if the Boss gets mad or not?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Saturn had just entered Cyrus's room, to see if he was ready for his breakfast. Saturn was daydreaming a little, wondering if he could persuade Cyrus to be adventurous that morning and have some strawberry jam on his oatmeal.

Seeing Cyrus was still sleeping, Saturn decided to leave and return a few minutes later. Then he noticed the colourful designs on Cyrus's face and nearly squealed like a little girl.

Saturn clamped his hands over his mouth to prevent the squeal from escaping. Who had dared to do just a heinous thing to his beloved Boss? The only good thing, as far as Saturn could see, was that they hadn't written any words that certainly wouldn't feature in a K+ rated story. Instead, they had drawn a mess of squiggles and lines.

Still though, such a thing was not acceptable. Saturn crept into Cyrus's en-suite and returned moments later, with a damp washcloth. Approaching the bed and hoping that the evil people in question hadn't used a permanent marker; Saturn began to carefully and gently wash Cyrus's face.

Saturn was not as lucky as the grunts had been and just as he was cleaning off the last blue line, Cyrus's' eyes opened. Saturn gasped (but didn't drop the washcloth on Cyrus) and Cyrus stared at him curiously.

"Commander Saturn, what are you doing?"

Saturn thought quickly. "You…looked hot Boss. I was just wiping your face for you to cool you down".

Cyrus nodded and sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. "Thank you, Commander. That was kind of you". Saturn held in a sigh of relief.

"Not at all Boss," he said, making a mental note to throw away the now blue stained washcloth.

"Yes. It was very kind. Is it time for my oatmeal?"

* * *

Saturn was on his way to the kitchen near Cyrus's room when he bumped into Mars. She looked a little agitated.

"Hey Mars, is everything Ok?" Saturn asked.

"Yes, well I think so," Mars replied. "It's just that I passed the old office that needs cleaning out and I swear there were two grunts working in there".

Saturn checked his watch. "At 05:23?"

"Yeah, that's what I found odd. The grunts never get up willingly before about nine".

Saturn nodded in agreement. "That's true. It must be a morning for weird things happening".

Mars frowned. "How do you mean, Saturn? What's been going on for you?"

* * *

In said old office, G45 and G46 were arguing quietly.

"It's no good, not at all. We're gonna have to sneak back into the Bosses' room if we wanna see whether he gets angry or not," G45 was saying.

"But where can we hide?" G46 wanted to know. "We won't fit under the bed or behind the computer desk".

"Uh…in the bathroom?"

"Nah, no good. That'll be the first place he heads when he finds out what we've done".

G45 sighed and crossed his arms. "Well, how are we supposed to know if he's mad of not then?"

"Guys, Master Cyrus isn't mad," a new voice said.

The grunts whipped round and saw Mars standing in the doorway, arms behind her back.

"But…*I* am," she finished up, whipping a paintball gun from behind her.

G45 and G46 looked at each other and both spoke simultaneously.

"Oh crap!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Part 4**

Two days later (they needed a spare day to recover from being shot with Mars' paintball gun) G45 and G46 were once again, planning ways to try and get Cyrus to show emotions. As Halloween had now definitely passed, they decided to skip trying to scare him and just go for making him mad.

"I really aren't sure about this, you know," G46 said doubtfully, as he checked his now healing bruises. "If the Boss doesn't get mad, Mars sure will".

"Don't be such a wimp!" said G45 impatiently. "Anyway, Mars has to catch us first and I have a foolproof plan this time".

"Uh, what is it?"

"Well, you know how the Boss is obsessed with oatmeal?"

G46 nodded. "That's an understatement. "Does he eat anything else?"

"Shush and listen! Right, my idea is we add an extra ingredient to his oatmeal".

"Go on…"

"…like sawdust".

As reluctant as he was to get into more trouble, G46 couldn't help but smirk at this idea.

"Ha, that would surely make him mad! But…what if we get caught?"

"We won't," insisted G45. "Before, we were caught because we actually needed to be by the Boss at the time. This time, we can just spike the oatmeal when there's nobody around".

G46 nodded slowly. "Alright then. I guess it's safe enough".

So, once they had finished putting ointment on their bruises, the two grunts snuck down to one of the workshops. G46 had an empty crisp packet in his pocket and he used this to collect the sawdust in.

"Got some," he said, rolling the top of the packet over to conceal its contents. "Off to the kitchen now?"

"Not so fast," said G45. "Remember the kitchen cam?"

G46 slapped his forehead. "Ugh, yeah. That'll see us for sure".

"Correction…whoever is monitoring the cams will see us".

"So we gotta get them away from the cam?"

"Yep," G45 said. "That'll be my job. "I'll go to the Control Room and get the guy in there to leave for a few minutes. You go down to the kitchen and spike the oatmeal".

"Ok," said G46. Then he frowned. "But how will I know when the guy watching the cameras…isn't?"

"I'll give you a signal," said G45. "I'll turn the kitchen cam off and on again quickly".

"Alright then," said G46. "But how will you know when I've put the sawdust in the oatmeal?"

"Because I'll see you do it on the cam, you twit!"

* * *

The grunts separated; G45 heading for the control room and G46, the kitchen. Jogging along, G45 soon arrived outside the control room. Hoping desperately that it wasn't one of the Commanders inside, he pushed open the door, while racking his brains to think of an excuse for entering.

Luckily for G45, it was a young grunt named G74 and she was fast asleep on duty. She was leaning back in her chair, eyes closed and feet up on the control desk. Snickering at his good fortune, G45 went over to the desk and quickly located the controls to the kitchen cam.

Sure enough, there was the kitchen, silent and empty as it was 11:00 in the morning. The floor gleamed, the washing up had been done and all plates, dishes and cutlery had been wiped up and tidied away nicely.

Then the double doors opened and G46 crept in, looking extremely guilty. He cast a glance over his shoulder and made his way over to the vast array of food cupboards. Reaching them, he then looked up at the cam.

G45 pressed the button to turn it off, counted two seconds under his breath and turned it on again. The screen went black, flickered and lit up. G46 was still staring at it. Then he nodded and waved.

G45 rolled his eyes but turned his attention back to the cam. He watched gleefully as his brother opened the cupboards, searching for the oatmeal. Hoping that it didn't take too long, G45 glanced back at G74, making sure she was still sleeping.

She hadn't moved an inch. And now G46 had found the open box of oatmeal. He emptied the contents of his old crisp packet in, stirring them round with his hand to make them less conspicuous.

G45 waited until his brother exited the kitchen, before leaving the control room. Once outside the door, he breathed a sigh of relief. They hadn't been caught. Now all they had to do was wait for dinner time!

* * *

Dinner time arrived and the two grunts made sure to choose a seat that was near enough to Cyrus to see his reaction but far enough away so that they didn't look suspicious. They watched the dining hall fill up, waiting for Cyrus to arrive.

Presently, Cyrus came in, carrying a tray with his usual bowl of oatmeal and a glass of water on. Saturn followed him, a bottle of cola in his hand.

"Have you seen Commander Mars this morning, Saturn?" Cyrus asked as he sat down in his usual seat.

"No Boss, not since breakfast time," Saturn replied. "Did you want me to go and find her?"

"No, it is alright. I expect she will be in for dinner soon. Sit down, Commander".

Saturn chose a seat next to Cyrus, a definite fan boy look on his face. G45 and G46 tried to see if Cyrus's oatmeal looked as if it may have sawdust in it but they couldn't tell from their vantage point. Cyrus took a sip of water, then dug his spoon into the bowl and had a mouthful of cereal.

Saturn took a gulp of cola and glanced across to Cyrus, to cherish the sight of his beloved Boss enjoying his favourite food. Instead of Cyrus remaining expressionless, however, his left eyebrow was lowered about half a millimetre.

G45 and G46 glanced at each other, then back at Cyrus. Was their plan a success?

"Boss, are you alright?" Saturn asked, as he was well trained in detecting if something was amiss.

"Yes. My oatmeal tastes wrong," said Cyrus.

"Oh Boss, let me taste it for you," Saturn offered. "I've always said that you should use me as a food taster".

"Very well," said Cyrus.

The grunts glanced at each other. Uh oh…this wasn't supposed to happen. Saturn took a mouthful of cereal, then spat it out at once.

"Commander, don't be so melodramatic," Cyrus said. "Oatmeal isn't that disgusting".

"That oatmeal is," Saturn exclaimed, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "It tastes like wood chippings".

"Yes. That is incorrect. It should taste like oatmeal".

"Hmm, is that so?" a new voice asked.

Mars had just entered the room, the grunt G74 in tow. G45 and G46 didn't need to be rocket scientists to immediately guess that G74 had actually NOT been asleep when G45 had been in the control room. They also (correctly) guessed that Mars had been late to dinner because G74 had been reporting to her.

"Hello Commander Mars," said Cyrus. "My oatmeal tastes wrong".

"Don't worry about that now," Mars soothed Cyrus. She turned to Saturn. "Saturn, can you take the Boss to get something else to eat? "I have…business to attend to here".

G45 and G46 began edging their chairs back.

"Sure Mars," said Saturn. He patted Cyrus on the back. "Come on Boss, let's go out and grab a pizza".

"But I never eat pizza," Cyrus protested. "I always have oatmeal".

"Well…maybe they have oatmeal pizza".

Cyrus nodded. "Yes. Very well then, I shall accompany you". He rose out of his chair and allowed Saturn to lead him out of the dining hall.

The two grunts looked at each other again.

"Did he show emotions?" G45 muttered.

"He lowered his left eyebrow a bit. Do you think that counts?"

G45 glanced up again. Mars was striding towards them, armed with a flamethrower.

"Tell you what…let's decide later," he announced, as he and G46 made a sprint for the nearest door.


	5. Chapter 5

**Part 5**

Luckily for G45 and G46, they escaped unhurt. Well, reasonably unhurt. Just a little singed.

Ok, a *lot* singed.

Unluckily for them, they simply didn't know when to call it quits. Another couple of days passed (long enough for their singed-ness to wear off) and they were once again, discussing ways to try and make Cyrus show emotion.

"Ok, I have it," G45 said. "This time, a foolproof plan. We can't fail!"

"Again?" G46 said wearily, eyeing up the Rawst berry he was about to eat. "Don't you think it's time we gave up now?"

"Not when we've come so far!"

G46 scowled. "If your definition of coming far means *running* far, then I would agree. We must have run miles over the last few days, trying to escape Mars's wrath".

"Humph!" said G45, folding his arms. "Don't be such a quitter. At least listen to my plan".

"Ok, Ok, I'm listening," said G46, privately deciding to himself to take no notice of his brother at all.

"Good! Right, so this time, we borrow Jupiter's Skuntank and get it to spray the Boss. That would make anybody angry!"

G46 nodded slowly. "Yes, especially Mars if she finds out what we're up to".

"No, keep listening," said G45. "Here comes the foolproof part. We make it look as if it's an accident".

G46 put the Rawst berry down a moment, his interest caught. "How?"

"We take the Skuntank to the Boss and tell him that Jupiter sent us and that she's concerned because she thinks her Pokemon is sick," G45 explained. Then, while he's looking at Skuntank, we have to make it mad so that it sprays him".

"It could work," G46 admitted. "But how do we do that?"

"By pulling the end of its tail. Not to hurt it, just enough to annoy it".

"Uh, but what if it sprays us too?"

"It would be worth it to finally see the Boss have a real reaction," insisted G45. "I mean, hopefully it won't but still… Are you game or not?"

G46 thought about this a little more. "How are we gonna get the Skuntank off Jupiter?"

"We can tell her that Saturn asked us to ask her if we would borrow it for a while to let him borrow it because…he's studying poison Pokemon for a secret assignment".

G46 attempted to translate that in his head. He failed.

"But Saturn never said such a thing. What if Jupiter asks Saturn if we asked him to ask our Boss, sorry, I mean Jupiter…"

"You're getting confused! Be quiet," said G45. "And anyway, that won't happen. If we involve enough people in our plan, the truth will never find its way back to us. Nobody ever follows up on these things".

G46 definitely looked interested but still concerned. "I dunno," he whined. "I still think that…"

"Well, don't! Leave the thinking to me," G45 said. "And just concentrate on imagining the Boss getting sprayed".

"Ok then," said G46 slowly. At last, he nodded and grinned.

"Sounds good to me. Let's do it!"

* * *

A few minutes later, the two grunts were walking down a corridor, searching for Jupiter. "She can't be hard to find," G45 was saying. "All we need to worry about is running into the Boss".

"Why?" asked G46. "He won't guess we're up to something, will he?"

"Shush, big mouth! He won't, not unless you keep on blabbing like that. I'm more worried he'll think we're slacking and find us some work to do".

"But we are slacking".

G45 looked at if he was going to clobber his brother. Luckily, voices ahead, emanating from one of the tea rooms distracted him.

"Be quiet, that's the Boss in there," G45 hissed at G46.

G46 nodded at once. The two grunts crept forwards, trying to hear what Cyrus was saying.

"Now that I have twenty minutes and forty three seconds where I am not busy, I am able to thank you both suitably".

"Aw, it's OK Boss," said Saturn's voice. "You don't have to, really".

"Not at all. You know we would always help you out," said Mars.

The two grunts exchanged glances and edged closer to the door. It was slightly ajar and they risked peeping round the jamb.

Cyrus, Mars and Saturn were sitting on a comfy settee, relaxing on their morning break. Two cups of hot tea and a glass of water (for Cyrus) sat on the little table in front of them. Saturn and Mars were both looking at Cyrus while he spoke.

"Commander Mars, you were very kind to dispatch those two grunts with a flamethrower after they disrespected my oatmeal," he said. "And Commander Saturn, you were also kind to escort me to lunch, even if the pizza restaurant didn't serve oatmeal pizzas. I am very grateful to both of you".

Mars blushed and Saturn grinned shyly. The grunts looked at each other, wondering whether they should leave or not. If even Cyrus or one of the Commanders sensed they were eavesdropping…

However, they were both too curious to leave. They continued to listen and peep around the door.

"Therefore," Cyrus continued. "I will pay both of you a 500% increase in your wages this month".

Saturn gaped and Mars blushes even more. "Oh Boss, you don't have to do that," she said.

"Yes. I know but I am going to," Cyrus said. "You have both been very loyal and considerate and I wish to reward you for such exemplary behaviour".

"Thank you Boss," said Mars, delighted. She nudged Saturn, who seemed to have forgotten how to speak.

"Uhhh, yeah…thanks," he said.

"Your gratitude is accepted," said Cyrus. "And also…I …" He paused, his eyebrows raised about a tenth of a millimetre.

"Yeah, what is it Boss?" Saturn prompted.

"The following behaviour that I am about to display is classified," said Cyrus. Then to Mars and Saturn's astonishment, Cyrus put one arm around both of them and hugged them.

Mars froze for about half a second, before she recovered enough to hug Cyrus back. Saturn, seeing her respond, decided that it was fine for him to hug Cyrus as well, which he did. Outside, the grunts just stared at each other, totally gob smacked.

"Is…is he…showing emotions?" G46 whispered.

G45 just nodded. Then he steered his brother away quickly, so they could discuss the amazing sight without fear of being overheard.

* * *

"That was…did you see that?" G46 gasped, once they were at a sufficient distance away from Cyrus. "It was…wow!"

G45 nodded dumbly. "Our Boss…he was, he did, didn't he?"

"I think so," G46 agreed.

"He must have done," said G45. "After all, affection is an emotion and he was…definitely being affectionate towards Mars and Saturn".

"Yeah," said G46, still overwhelmed by such a rare sight.

The grunts walked on, in a daze. It was a good job that Cyrus hadn't found them and set them to work. Neither of them felt as if they could do a thing for the rest of the day. Or possibly, for the rest of the week. Which wasn't much less that they usually didn't do.

"Here?" G46 finally said, when he had calmed down just a tiny bit. "I just thought of something".

"Yeah?"

"Well, now that we know our Boss has emotions, does that mean we don't have to nick Jupiter's Skuntank to prank him?"

"Borrow Jupiter's Skuntank," corrected G45. "And yes, it does".

"Cool!" said G46, relieved. "I mean, yeah, it would have been funny but if ever Mars would have found out. Who knows what she would have attacked us with this time?"

"I know what you mean," said G45 with feeling. "At least we're safe from attacks now, huh?"

"I wouldn't say that," said a certain female voice behind them.

The grunts whipped round at lightning speed. To their immense relief, an angry Mars was not standing there. To their immense horror, an angry Jupiter *was*.

"What is this I hear about you trying to steal my darling Skuntank?" she demanded.

"Uhh…" said G46.

"Borrow," G45 corrected weakly.

Jupiter was not convinced. She glared at the grunts and whipped out a mortar.

The grunts looked at each other. Words weren't need but they said one anyway.

"RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!" they screamed, fleeing down the corridor at hypersonic speed!

 **The End**


End file.
